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say KONNICHI WA to your new friends :p

very satisfied for the first German vessel. waiting for the rest of them.

just a suggestion which you probably considered but i wanna say that:

i think you can move or retreat your armies from Alor Star to Singora and let the British move to Alor Star. then make an offensive to Kra from both north -Thom Buri- and south -Singora- ( i`m not sure is it faster or not but you can make an amphibious assault for extra to reach faster to Kra) , and when you reach to Kra you can destroy lots of British in Alor Star... ?
 
I´m very happy that some german ships arrived and will now serve the IJN.

Will you rename them or do you want to keep them just like they are?
 
Originally posted by Maj. von Mauser:
I do think the dialogue between the Chinese minster and Mamoruo was to cordial though, they are at war. I don't think the Chinese would have been so polite.

But it is likely that Mao's insurgents had an ambassador in Tokyo?

Too bad about the Prinz Eugen, but it was hardly a surprise. More comforting is south-east Asia, where the British will have to be smart (yeah...) to get any further. Maybe you can turn the tide there soon!

If the Soviet ambassador chops his own head off by accident, or something like that, remember that he'll only be replaced by two more!
 
Mangudai said:
But it is likely that Mao's insurgents had an ambassador in Tokyo?

Not really, but ingame you can still conduct diplomatic actiosn with warring nations, so it means they had to have someone there.
 
Negotiations can be dealt with in other manners. Messages and envoys can be sent, although it's a bit risky. ;)
 
What do you know. You leave for a few days and China's gone and on the way Remble invents the tactic of "aggressive defense".

Congratulations. It looks ever more likely that Japan will actually survive. Though the strategic bombers could prove slightly annoying.

So the next update should be the monthly meeting and in the one after we will finally see the execution of the secret plan. Am I correct?
 
Those reinforcements are in the nick of time.

The Germans are coming! :)
 
Maj. von Mauser, Hermann Steiner - Thank you. The extra German ships are extremely valuable in the long term. There are 46 Submarines trying to reach Japan of which I expect at least 30 to make it.

I am a nice guy and let foreign diplomats have a home even if they are at war. In the real world they would not be there of course.

harezmi - Siam is looking a lot better but allowing British forces to advance in order to cut them off falls under gaminess in my books, although my secret plan could also be considered gamey I guess :)

Inner Circle - They will keep their names in honour of their former service.

Mangudai - The Soviets do seem to be multiplying for sure.

Sokraates - Aggressive defence is the only option for Japan, I can't sit and wait for the Allies to make the moves all the time. The Stategic bombers will be annoying yes but I cannot stop them. Besides its the AI using them so what harm can they really do? :D

The next update is indeed the monthly meeting and, as I am feeling generous, I am including the secret plan in the update as it has been guessed at already.

stnylan - The Cavalry is not allowed to arrive early and has to arrive just in the nick of time :D

Hermann Steiner - I am not sure exactly how much impact the German ships will have but they can protect a large area if I get most of them home.

sbr - There are quite a few neutral countries in Europe for them to scuttle next to, Denmark being the obvious choice.

Update to follow ...
 
Update (December 1st 1944)





0000 December 1st 1944.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.

"Good morning your Highness, Gentlemen." Hideki began the meeting. "November appears to have gone fairly well and we will start with an Intelligence round up today."

"Your Highness, Gentlemen. As always these reports are not considered accurate and are merely a rough guide to our enemies strengths and weaknesses." Kuniaki began.​

dec1440000intsov.jpg

"The Soviet industry has settled down to a firm number and they have more than double our current maximum industrial capacity. Needless to say we would be very hard pressed to win a war with the Russians especially if it becomes a war of attrition.

Their current research is fairly wide spread with improvements in diversified areas.

The numbers indicate a large increase in ground forces totalling some forty infantry divisions and five armoured divisions. If the numbers are correct it merely makes a massive army even larger.

No major changes to their airforce or fleet strengths has been detected."​

dec1440000intuk.jpg

"The United Kingdom's industry is also unchanged and is larger than ours. They are presumed to be concentrating on increasing the strength of the Royal Navy.

Their ground forces are largely unchanged in strength which is probably correct as we have not been destroying their forces on land.

The Royal Air Force numbers are a long way from being accurate and you can probably double these numbers at the least.

The Royal Navy has increased its numbers by eight smaller ships with their capital ship numbers unchanged. The small ship numbers are not likely to be correct if you tally them against the ships we know have been sunk during the past month."​

dec1440000intus.jpg

"The United States industry is the same at its basic level but has seen a small drop in maximum capacity. We do not know what caused this but it is likely to be due to a ministerial change. We do know that Truman replaced Wallace as Head of Government.

Their Army has shrunk by twenty one infantry divisions and three armoured divisions. The number is likely to be far to low for infantry in particular although we know we destroyed several divisions during abortive attempts to take Guam.

As with the British you can at least double the number of aircraft available to the United States.

Their Navy shows a drop of ten Battleships and one Aircraft Carrier. Unless they scuttled several Battleships the number is not accurate and is closer to twenty. We sank two Carriers which means they launched a new one if the number is right. Twenty two smaller ships have also been sunk according to these numbers. As we have no idea what they are producing all we can do is compare these numbers to a list of known ships sunk.

The next month will see the completion of research into an updated Infantry division and improved Naval Doctrines for our surface fleet. I have also started increasing the number of counter espionage agents within Japan to try and capture enemy spies. Nothing further." concluded Kuniaki.

"Industry please."

"Your Highness, Gentlemen. Good morning. The conquest of Communist China has increased our stockpiles to new highs but there are still some major shortfalls in most areas." Ginjiro began.​

dec1440000prod.jpg

"Dissent is reducing well and should be totally controlled inside two weeks at which point a large amount of industrial capacity can be used for other things. Transport capacity is still high due to redeployments from China after the conquest of the Communists.

Energy is still a problem but it has turned into a medium range problem rather than a short term problem due to our recent conquests. Metal is also reducing but we have acquired huge stocks of this raw material and it is not likely to be a concern for almost a year if it remains as it is. Our rare materials stockpile is also reducing quite rapidly and will need to be watched closely.

Oil is sufficient for the moment but we do need more especially if we continue to operate both the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Force at their current levels.

Our supply situation has improved dramatically over the last month and we now have enough stockpiled to allow some extra supplies for offensive use if it is required. I shall continue to increase this stockpile as and when I can.

Manpower reserves are sufficient for now but at their current levels we only have enough to equip a further fifty infantry divisions which may not be enough. I will begin to raise new divisions once our research is complete into the updated version.

Current production is for three Tactical bomber squadrons with further squadrons being constructed in serial for two of three. The first three are due on December 12th. I will order some more convoys after this meeting to ensure our future needs are adequately covered. We are losing some over time to Submarines.

Reinforcements are mostly for damaged ships and aircraft and I will try and maintain a level that will repair all of these units. Required upgrades are large and increasing with very little spare capacity to rectify the situation. This will be a long term project and it could well take most of the coming year to fully upgrade our forces to our current technology level. That is all from me." Ginjiro concluded.

"Anything for Diplomacy?" asked Hideki.

"Your Highness, Gentlemen. Very little to report at all. I am still trying to trade as and when I can mostly with the Soviets and South American countries. Small increases in trade are the best that we can hope for with conquest still our main hope for sustainable resources." said Mamoru.

"On to Military then with the Army first."

"Good morning your Highness, Gentlemen." began Satoru. "The conclusion of the war in China has allowed our forces to strengthen their position in Siam and we have stalled the current British offensive. I will start with the Pacific for my briefing on theaters."​

dec1440000pac.jpg

"There has been no territorial change whatsoever in the entire Pacific. Several American attempts were made to capture Guam, all of which failed. The costs to our enemies was large including at least four armoured divisions as well as thier Transport fleets."​

dec1440000asia.jpg

"Asia has changed somewhat with the annexation of Communist China. We have two smaller fronts in the region, one of the north west and one around Siam and Burma."​

dec1440000asianw.jpg

"The north west is totally stable with more than adequate forces to hold this defensive line from a weak British advance so far. We have the added advantage of having just about the only usable air base in this entire region should we need to use it."​

dec1440000asianc.jpg

"The situation further south is still slightly fluid but a lot more stable than it was a month ago. We have halted British progress in the south by transporting seven divisions to Alor Star but we still consider the center to be inadequately defended once the British forces advance into the mountains in the west. Only time will tell if we need to further strengthen this area. The redeploying troops are nearly all heading for Xiaguan in the north with a few scattering to defend beaches and other priority defensive provinces.

The movement of the Imperial Japanese Air Force to this region is likely to help considerably with our enemies paying for every inch of ground from now on. I have nothing else so over to Minister Osami for a Naval briefing." concluded Satoru.

"Have you finalised your plans Minister Satoru?" asked Hirohito.

"Yes your Majesty, all is in readiness." Satoru replied.

"That is good to know." replied the Emperor.​
 
"Your Highness, Gentlemen. The Imperal Japanese Navy has once again thwarted all enemy attempts to advance in the Pacific and has inflicted significant losses to their Navies. Before I go into losses I have an update on the current positions of the former German fleets attempting to reach Japanese waters." Osami began.​

dec1440000sub1.jpg

"The smallest, containing four Submarine Flotillas, has made it past Africa and is due to arrive at a friendly port on December 13th."​

dec1440000sub2.jpg

"Secondly, the twelve Submarine Flotillas in the English Channel are trying to clear this area. They will continue to try to break free of the enemy fleets in the area but I do not think they will be able to."​

dec1440000sub3.jpg

"And finally, the largest fleet, containing thirty Submarine Flotillas, is currently off the coast of Freetown and making good progress. It is due in early January if nothing alters.

All of these fleets will require extensive refits once they arrive. The only fleet to reach a Japanese port is repairing well and will soon be ready for sea."​

dec1440000sunk.jpg

"Losses for the month are larger than for November. We have lost none of our own home produced ships for the third successive month but we did lose three ex-German ships. Our enemies have had a much worse month by comparison.

Japanese Losses

1 x Heavy Cruiser - KMS Prinz Eugen.
1 x Submarine Flotilla - 51 Unterseebootsflottille.
1 x Destroyer Flotilla - 7. Zerstorergeschwader.

Brazilian Losses

2 x Transport Flotillas.

Canadian Losses

2 x Destroyer Flotillas.

French Losses

2 x Light Cruisers.
2 x Transport Flotillas.

British Losses

1 x Heavy Cruiser.
3 x Light Cruisers.
2 x Submarine Flotillas.
2 x Destroyer Flotillas.
8 x Transport Flotillas.

American Losses

2 x Aircraft Carriers.
2 x Battleships.
2 x Light Carriers.
4 x Light Cruisers.
6 x Destroyer Divisions.
14 x Transport Divisions.

Fifty seven ships in all of which three were Japanese. If losses continue at the current rate it is likely that we will have the only viable Navy left in approximately six months. This does not take into account new production but we should be able to control the seas after such a time period even with a large investment in ships by our enemies. The long build times, for capital ships in particular, should prevent any large increases in enemy fleet sizes. Nothing else from me." concluded Osami.

"Good work once again Gentlemen. Japan may yet survive for many years to come. Minister Satoru you have my permission to brief us on the up coming secret plans that you have been working on. They begin shortly so these Gentlemen need to know what is going on, although some already do." said Hirohito.

"As you wish your Majesty." replied Satoru. "Planning began over a month ago for an offensive operation to try and stall our enemies advances. There were two main objectives included in the plan.

Firstly we required an attack into an area with good resources, particularly energy.

Secondly we needed to consider the wider picture and attack an area that could provide the maximum benefit to our overall battle plans.

The choice of targets became obvious as soon as the United States Navy was tamed to some degree. Our major land foe is currently in Burma and Siam and it is at this foe that the coming plans are directed."​

dec1440000asiansing.jpg

"Our forces have been building up in Singapore over the last month and we now have twelve infantry divisions available for the first phase of operations. Additional forces will support the initial attacks and will come directly from front line forces in southern Siam.

As you can see there are two Transport fleets as well as Carrier Group C and BB Division 1 in port. All four are taking an active part in the plans. BB Division 2 will be moved south from Davao to cover the area currently patrolled by BB Division 1. This will leave almost no naval presence in the Marianas or Celebes, but we consider the chances of any major American aggression to be slim after their losses during November. Our Naval bombers will cover these areas for the time being.

The easiest way to explain any battle plan is with a map and I have one with me."​

dec1440000ind1.jpg

"The map shows eastern India and western Burma. You will notice that there are several beaches in the area and the choice for our little invasion is the province of Cuttack in India.

We would have landed in Calcutta if it had anywhere suitable but it did not. The beaches in Burma were deemed to be too close to the enemy front lines and too far away from Calcutta and its vital airbase. This airbase is our primary objective, without it we will almost certainly have to abandon this area once enemy forces react. All of our Tactical bombers will use Calcutta as soon as we capture it and provide air cover primarily to the west and then to the east as the situation develops.

Our Close Air Support aircraft will move to cover southern Siam once the Tactical bombers move.

This entire area is likely to contain very few enemy troops and is also why it was chosen.

Twelve divisions will initially land, supported by Carrier Group C, with five more joining in the second wave.

Three divisions will guard the beach head and the other nine will advance towards Calcutta. Once they capture Calcutta six will proceed north to try and capture Punakha and remove Butan from the war. This will also cut any land connection the British have for supplies in Burma. They will have no option but to use convoys from this point onwards.

Secondary advances towards the energy rich provinces will begin once the second wave arrives to provide a solid front.

BB Division 1 will be taking up position off Rangoon to try and prevent any troop movements.

Any further plans from this point onwards will be dictated by progress and enemy forces in the entire region.

The main threat to this entire plan is a naval one. Should either the United States or United Kingdom move a large Battlefleet into this area it could halt the entire invasion. Again we do not think this likely at this time.

That is about all there is to it. Simple and hopefully effective." concluded Satoru.

"A nice plan Minister Satoru. What is the name of this plan?" asked Hirohito.

"Name your Majesty?"

"Yes a name. All such plans need names you know. Its sort of a tradition."

Satoru looked at his military counterparts before answering. All of them had blank stares and would clearly be of no help. "We have not thought of a name your Majesty, it was something we seem to have overlooked."

"Then the plan is not complete now is it? I suggest you think of a name and very quickly or this plan will be delayed. You seem to have a small dilemma on your hands Gentlemen." said Hirohito.

The Armed Forces Ministers gathered together and tried to think of something suitable. As it turned out the name had already been said.

"Your Highness we have arrived at a suitable name for this operation and we thank you for providing that name." said Satoru.

"I did?" asked the Emperor.

"Yes your Majesty. We will call this plan 'Operation Dilemma'." replied Satoru.

"Ah a most fitting name for a problematical plan. Hopefully, when we next meet in the New Year, things will be very different and Japan will once again be on the offensive." said Hirohito as he left the room.​
 
I love the "Operation Dilemma" map, man. Looks nice and technical (and secret). :)
 
Good plan, that should help relieve your forces in burma. *crosses fingers for Remble*
 
Awesome! This is shaping up to be at least twice as good as your last AAR, and that was an amazing AAR!

Great overview, I love the idea for the new operation. I had thought you might try something like that eventually, but not anything so grand! I had thought that you might use the 16 or so divisions guarding Siam to cut off the bulk of the British advance and in doing so encircle and destroy it. Still a viable option, I think. ;)
 
Hmm, I wasn't that far off with my suggestion for the sec op, but I didn't have in mind that

1) There's a lot of energy in East India.

2) There's an important airbase in Calcutta.

3) Dhaka got no beach.

All in all a an exciting plan.

Oh, and a little piece of information: You just call it the Imperial Japanese Air Force, but in RL their airforce was divided between the army and the navy, like with the Americans. You can call it the "Imperial Japanese Army Air Force", while the naval aviation consists predominantly of the CAGs. :)
 
Operation Dilemma sounds like a plan!

Good update. :)